Heterodinuclear lanthanide complexes: Study of local ion electronic structure and magnetoelectric coupling in a molecular quantum gate proto

Quantum information processing using molecular systems is of paramount importance within the second quantum revolution, because of efficient addressing of quantum error-corrections. Among these systems hetero lanthanide (Ln) complexes are proposed as quantum gates. Although of great interest these complexes remain very rare and thus very little studied. We have synthesised a new family of pure heterodinuclear Ln complexes. We propose to study the magnetic properties of the individual Ln centres within the heterometallic assembly by X-ray Magnetocircular Dichroism (XMCD). Furthermore, the possible coupling of the local magnetic moments to electric fields, via the magnetoelectric coupling effect, can be exploited to control the Ln gates by external electric fields. We will investigate the occurrence of strong magnetoelectric coupling in these compounds by probing them for a magnetochiral response (X-ray Magnetochiral Dichroism, XMChiD).